Electromagnetic launchers are well known in the art. However, none of the known prior art is capable of achieving the goal of launchings on the order of 1000 projectiles in under 10 minutes. To meet such a goal, the power supply must be capable of delivering the appropriate energy and power for 1,000 launching events, and the loader mechanism/barrel must also be capable of withstanding the same number of events if one barrel is used.
To accomplish the foregoing objectives, it was necessary to develop a system which included power supply components that are simple, modular, expandable, and generally available. The lead acid automotive battery and electrolytic capacitors meet these requirements. Prior electromagnetic launchers have used automotive lead acid batteries to charge an inductive store that must be switched repetitively. Several commutating switching schemes have been tried in the past, but these have not proven reliable or cost effective beyond a three to five shot burst. Eliminating the need for these commutating switching arrangements was another goal of this invention, and was accomplished using a combination of batteries charging an electrolytic capacitor array which is switched in the electromagnetic launcher with standard, off the shelf silicon controlled rectifiers. The use of this combination eliminates the low power density limitation of the batteries, the requirement to repetitively commutate energy out of an inductor, and allows for a modular system that can readily be expanded to provide higher energy to each projectile in the burst. In addition, it was necessary to provide a loading mechanism and a control system for controlling the operation of all the components.